The US Federal Reserve is one of the most powerful bodies on the planet today, able to shake global markets with the force of a single word: Taper. Analysts shudder, investors wail, bond yields spike, and stocks collapse whenever the mere possibility of a taper arises. And yet, the fear that the world will end if the Fed ratchets down its $85 billion-a-month bond buying program is mostly unfounded. It is true that when the Fed suggested earlier this year that it might taper, the markets went into a tailspin, but the reason for that was uncertainty about the broader economy. The U.S. was reeling from the negative ... (full story)